Suicide continues to be one of society’s worst problems and shows no signs of letting up. The rates of people who voluntarily kill themselves globally increases with each year, a dilemma that needs an answer. Suicide is devastating and affects families, communities, and entire societies. Some countries are feeling the effects of suicide in their societies more than others. This article will prove you a list of all the countries with the highest suicide rates. The ones that rank the highest include: Sri Lanka, Guyana, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Suriname, and many others. What is it that makes these countries prime targets for suicide victims?

The two worst places for suicide are Sri Lanka and Guyana. These each have over 30 victims out of every 100,000 people per year. This is a terribly high number, and it has only been rising over time. Both of these countries have extreme poverty, which is a foremost possible cause for the high number of suicides. In Sri Lanka, the majority of deaths are found to be with people under fifty years of age, with thousands committing suicide each year. The tendency in Guyana seems to be that three times more males than females commit suicide, mostly caused by drinking pesticides.
An interesting deviant from the trend of high suicide in poor countries is that of South Korea. South Korea has a high economy compared to these other countries, and yet 24 out of every 100,000 commit suicide each year. Upon examination, it is found that the majority of these cases are among the elderly, especially in rural areas. This once again points toward the poverty factor, since the elderly in South Korea are often poorer than the rest of their society. It would appear than many of these victims feel as though they are useless and a burden to their families.

Many of these countries suffering from high suicide rates used to be under socialist influences. The previous harsh regimes may account at least in part for the bad economies. The hardships under which citizens have had to put up with cause the rate to go up. Some of these countries have issues with youth suicide, especially among young girls, whereas others suffer from financial problems. All of these difficulties are only making suicide increase across the board.

It is hard to pinpoint any direct cause of suicide, which makes it challenging to prevent more cases. It is especially hard to understand suicide in situations such as South Korea, which has a developed economy, yet is high on the suicide list. Fortunately, there are several programs across the world which are attempting to remedy the issue. Some offer help for those who are mentally challenged or depressed. Making the public aware of suicide rates is becoming more of a priority than ever as we are trying to prevent further growth. These suicide numbers need to stop increasing and start going down instead. Hopefully they will shrink as we get the word out and the world as a whole makes an effort to prevent suicide.